4th Annual Waller Lecture to be held September 17

CHAPEL HILL - The 4th annual Patricia F. Waller Lecture will be held September 17 at 4 p.m. and will feature Dr. Russell T. Jones, a Professor of Psychology at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

The talk, "Psychosocial Consequences of Hurricane Katrina," will be held at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Jones is a clinical psychologist who specializes in child psychology, community psychology, and issues related to disaster and terrorism. He was deployed as a member of a federal mental health disaster team following Hurricane Katrina and serves as a member of the Scientific Board of the Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group at the Harvard Medical School. He is an expert on the psychological effects of trauma and natural disasters in children.

"We're pleased to welcome Dr. Jones to speak on this topic - one that addresses the aftermath of trauma is an important, but often forgotten, element in the spectrum of injury control. Dr. Jones' research and clinical work on the psychological responses among victims of fires, terrorism and natural disasters is important and nationally recognized," said Dr. Carol Runyan, director of the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and a professor of health behavior and health education at UNC's School of Public Health.

Dr. Jones received his PhD from Penn State University and completed his clinical internship at Brown University.

The lecture is held annually in memory of Dr. Patricia F. Waller, a UNC professor who founded the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and was a pioneer in injury control. She worked for nearly two decades as a researcher at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center, where she developed the concept for graduated licensing that would become adopted nationwide.

"Dr. Waller was a major force in the field of public health through her work in injury prevention and highway safety. She was a visionary researcher and leader and we are pleased to honor her annually with this lecture," said David Harkey, director, UNC Highway Safety Research Center.

The Waller lecture is sponsored jointly by the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center, the UNC Highway Safety Research Center and the UNC Department of Psychology, based in the College of Arts and Sciences.